US denial on Iranian journalist visas
From correspondents in Washington
September 21, 2006 063am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
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THE US has denied it refused to grant visas to 15 Iranian journalists who wanted to accompany President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UN General Assembly in New York.
The State Department said the reporters lodged their applications only on Saturday, planning to travel yesterday, and therefore had not left time for their applications to be processed.
"It's certainly wrong to suggest that we either denied visas or had signalled to the Iranians that we had done so," said State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey.
"We were simply trying to comply with US law and the necessary processes involved in that.
"That is something that for Iranian citizens, because of our concerns, because we don't have diplomatic relations, because they are the leading state sponsor of terror, (does) in fact, take time."
The US mission at the UN had received 150 applications for people to take part in the Iranian delegation at this week's meeting, and had so far granted 125, Mr Casey said.
Iran, locked in a showdown over its nuclear program with western powers, complained today that Washington had barred the journalists and failed to honour its duties as host nation for the United Nations.
"The United States is practically weakening the UN ... It shows US weakness towards the free flow of information," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Mr Ahmadinejad arrived at the UN today. He berated the United States and Britain in a fiery address, slamming "hegemonic powers" who imposed "exclusionist policies on international decision-making mechanisms, including the Security Council".
Tehran and Washington have no diplomatic relations.
Iranian media reported that Interior minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi also was denied a US visa last week. Last year, parliament speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, who planned to attend UN-sponsored meetings, was denied a visa.
State television complained that while the United States bars Iranian journalists, some 200 US reporters have visited Iran in the past year.
Only the state news agency IRNA and state television IRIB have bureaux in the United States and they are not allowed to cover other events outside New York
eppure ai giornalisti statunitensi non era stato impedito di visitare l'Iran chissà come mai....
che paradiso democratico gli USA!!




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